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Friday Kickoff: Europa League draw, FIFA to test fourth sub and more

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The UEFA Europa League quarterfinals draw took place on Friday, pairing eight teams from six different countries to play on April 6 and 14.

Borussia Dortmund-Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao-Sevilla headline the pairings, while Braga-Shakhtar Donetsk and Villarreal-Sparta Praha round out the four matchups.

FIFA will begin testing the use of a fourth substitution, which would only be used in extra time, at the Olympic tournaments, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup this year. (REPORT)

Defender David Alaba, 23, signed an extension with Bayern Munich until 2021. (REPORT)

UEFA charged both Manchester United and Liverpool for crowd disturbance following their Europa League match on Wednesday. (REPORT)

Rafinha is back at the disposal of Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique after recovering from a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament on Sept. 16, 2015. (REPORT)

Fullback Adriano accepted an extension with Barcelona until 2017. (REPORT)

Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger said he is not interested in adding Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the moment. (REPORT)

Mexican club Pumas UNAM stomped Deportivo Táchira, 4-1, in the Copa Libertadores, while Olimpia, Rosario Central and Nacional all posted wins as well. (REPORT)

Spain national team coach Vicente del Bosque named his 25-man roster for upcoming friendlies, and while David Silva, Thiago Alcantara and Juan Mata are included on the roster, while Diego Costa is not. (REPORT)

Andres Guardado, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez and Rafa Marquez headline Mexico’s roster for El Tri’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Canada. (REPORT)

THURSDAY REWIND

Jordan Allen is watching and analyzing teammate Javier Morales in order to develop as Real Salt Lake’s No. 10 this season. (REPORT)

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said he will bring forward Jozy Altidore into camp ahead of the team’s two World Cup qualifiers against Guatemala, even though he has not played for Toronto FC so far this season due to injury. (REPORT)

U.S. Soccer officially unveiled the new jerseys for the USMNT and the U.S. Women’s National Team. (REPORT)

Eric Calvillo is hoping for a breakout year with the New York Cosmos in 2016 after playing for the U.S. during October’s Under-17 World Cup and captaining the U.S. Under-19 National Team in the Copa del Atlantico tournament. (REPORT)

SBI wants to know: Which 0-2 team in MLS is in the most trouble? (REPORT)

Ahead of the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team’s Olympic playoff series against Colombia, former players stressed doing whatever is necessary in order to qualify for this summer’s tournament. (REPORT)

Which matchup in the Europa league are you most excited to see? What do you think of the implementation of a fourth substitute in extra time?

Share your thoughts below.

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